Stepbrother Backstage (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 3) (37 page)

I look away from him, shocked at this turn of events. I
admit, I haven’t had a chance to think past this afternoon. I figured I’d get
to use this “interview” as an excuse to see Cash again. But past that…is it
really a good idea to involve him in my work life? What if that added stress
just brings this thing crashing down? A crease crops up between his eyebrows as
I fall into silence.

“What is it?” he asks, cocking his head.

“I’m just. I wasn’t—”

“Do you not want me to come or something?” he asks bluntly.

“What? No! I mean yes, I think,” I blather, “It just never
occurred to me that you
would
.”

“You need to stop trying to figure out what I’m gonna do
next,” he laughs, standing up and striding toward the fridge across the office.
“You’ll be wrong nine times out of ten.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get that impression,” I say, as Cash
pops open the fridge and pulls out two bottles of beer.

“Let’s say that I’m down to take this little job of yours,”
he goes on, opening the beers with his belt buckle. “What happens next?”

“Well…I was
supposed
to come here today solely to get
a ‘yes’ from you,” I laugh. “And your signature on the dotted line, of course.”

“Guess you got a little more than you bargained for,” he
grins, handing me a beer, “No shame in that. You’re a, uh…shrewd negotiator.”

“Or something,” I laugh, taking a swig of beer.

“So, you’ve got me on board,” Cash goes on, “Now what?”

“Now…I guess you come to Seattle and meet the ReImaged
team,” I tell him. “That is, the people I work with…”

“You don’t sound too excited about that,” Cash observes,
raising an eyebrow.

“It’s not that,” I rush to assure him, “I guess it just
feels like asking for trouble. We already have plenty of baggage between us
with our family situation.”

“The way I see that, me coming to work for you could solve
all that,” he replies.

“How do you figure?”

“Because,” he explains, “Working together would give us a
whole new context of knowing each other. Our families wouldn’t be our only
connection anymore. We could just pretend we really did meet at a bar, and
forget the rest ever happened.”

“You mean…hide the fact that we’re secretly
almost-step-siblings from everyone we’ve ever met?” I ask, marveling at how
ordinary this bizarre conversation feels.

“Pretty much,” he shrugs.

“While also lying to our families by pretending we’re not
secretly screwing like rabbits?”

“Well, yeah.”

I stare up at Cash across the room, my mind reeling. Do I
really want to spend the foreseeable future leading some kind of crazy double
life? Lying to everyone I know in some capacity? How can a healthy relationship
possibly emerge from such a tangled web of deceit? Hell if I know. But sitting
here alone with Cash, tucked away from the rest of the world, is the only thing
that truly feels honest. So what if we have to lie for a while, in order to
live our truth?

“So, what do you say?” he asks softly, “Think you can handle
me crashing your real life?” I’m not sure if he’s kidding or not.

“I have no idea,” I tell him honestly, “But I thought you
said I wasn’t supposed to be thinking ahead?”

“You aren’t,” he winks, “It was a trick question. Good job,
Porter. There may be hope for you yet.”

“You’re a real sonofabitch, you know that Cash?” I say,
tucking my legs under me.

“Yeah, I’ve gotten that before,” he shrugs, “But you know
what that makes you?”

“Out of my goddamn mind for being crazy over you,” I reply
in all seriousness, taking in Cash in all his shirtless, beer slinging glory.

“That about covers it,” he smiles, letting his eyes rake
down my barely-clothed body. “You know…I don’t think this storm is gonna let up
any time soon, Maddie.”

“Oh no?” I ask innocently, peering up at the rain-splattered
office window.

“Nope,” Cash sighs, striding across the room toward me,
“That means I probably won’t have any more customers today. I can close up shop
right now. And I don’t think you should be driving all the way back to Seattle
tonight.”

“It probably wouldn’t be a very good idea,” I agree,
swinging my feet around to the floor. I let my knees fall ever-so-slightly
apart as Cash approaches. “Do you know any place I might be able to stay
tonight?”

“There is a motel over by my favorite roadside bar…” he
grins, drawing to stop before me. “Maybe you know it?”

“Oh, I believe I’m intimately acquainted with that place,” I
smile up at him, taking another long sip of beer.

“Hmm…” Cash murmurs, trailing his fingertips down my bare
leg. “Want me to jog your memory anyway?”

“Yes please,” I breathe, as he sinks down onto his knees
before me.

My head falls back against the black leather as Cash sets
down his beer and places his cool hands on my thighs. Lowering his full lips to
my skin, he kisses me just above the knee. Trailing his kisses slowly up my
thigh, he pulls my hips forward, drawing me to the edge of the couch. That spot
between my legs begins to throb as he presses my knees apart. Just moments ago,
I thought that fervid desire was fully sated by our enthusiastic “hello
again”…but I’m starting to realize that when it comes to Cash Hawthorne, I’ll
always have an appetite for more.

I hold my breath as he closes his teeth around the band of
my panties, glancing devilishly up at me. He tugs the cotton garment with his
mouth, easing it down over the rise of my ass, the slender lengths of my legs.
Tossing my underwear aside, he turns his gaze to me. A low groan rises in his
throat as I let my legs fall apart, opening even more of myself to him.

Looks like I’m not the only one who hasn’t had their fill
quite yet.

Without a word, Cash lowers his mouth to my aching slit. My
back arches as I feel his warm breath against my wetness. My long, low moan
rises above the sound of the rain pounding against the roof as Cash runs his
tongue all along the length of me. His expert tongue strokes my pulsing, eager
sex, sending shockwaves of pleasure up through my whole body. I gasp, grabbing
hold of the sofa for dear life as he pushes back my flushed, pink flesh and
exposes my raw, aching clit.

“Oh,
fuck
,” I cry out, as he flicks that tender nub
with the tip of his masterful tongue. “Oh my god, right there…”

“Oh, I know…” he growls, sliding two thick fingers inside of
me as he traces quick, firm circles around that exposed button.

My cries erupt in the otherwise quiet room as Cash bears
down on my clit with his exquisite mouth, thrusting his fingers deep inside me
all the while. I can feel myself hurtling toward the heights of bliss, totally
at the mercy of Cash’s ardent attentions. I’m out of control, unable to form a
single thought, a coherent plan of action. Now, as ever when I’m with Cash
Hawthorne, I can stop overthinking—stop thinking at all—and be in the moment
with him. And as he wraps his firm lips around my throbbing clit, sucks hard
and fast enough to make
me come like mad, I know
there’s not another moment I’d rather be living in.

As my body and mind come floating back down from the heights
of bliss, I look down at Cash as he licks the taste of me from his lips.

“I have to say, Maddie…” he grins wickedly, “It’s already
been a pleasure doing business with you.”

Chapter Twelve

The rest of my “work day” flies by in a rush of ardent
lovemaking and shattering bliss. Cash closes up shop, and we have each other
every which way before finally falling into a deep, satisfied sleep. His
apartment takes up the second floor of the shop—a modest bachelor pad roughly
the same size as my Seattle studio. We tumble into his bed just after midnight,
spent from our day-long fuck fest of a reunion.

My eyes flutter open at the first sign of day, and I’m
almost taken aback at how peaceful I feel—comfortable, warm, and safe. Cash and
I are wrapped up in a well-worn quilt, totally naked, our limbs entwined. Could
it really be possible to begin every morning this way? Could two people ever be
so lucky?

Moving as little as possible so as not to disturb Cash, I
reach down to where his phone is laying on the floor. Rolling onto my belly, I
note the time. It’s only five in the morning. I guess my body couldn’t wait to
get back up and at ‘em…and by
‘em
, I mean Cash, of course. It isn’t
until I note the date beneath the time displayed on the phone that it hits me.

It’s Tuesday morning. I’m expected back at ReImaged at
10a.m.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” I groan.

“Hmm? What?” Cash mutters, waking at once as he hears the
distress my voice, “What’s wrong, babe?”

I glance over at him, the gears of my mind spinning like
mad. If we’re going to set off on this next crazy adventure together, we may as
well get a move on. There’s not a moment to lose.

“How would you feel about a little road trip, Hawthorne?” I
ask him, a mischievous grin spreading across my face.

After two very strong cups of coffee and a shower that only
lets us indulge our dirty side one more time, Cash and I hit the road. I lead
the way in my beat up car while Cash follows on his beloved bike. All along the
way, I can’t help stealing glances at him in my rearview mirror. With his
leather jacket, sleek half-shell helmet, and dark jeans, he’s every bit the
prototypical bad boy biker. A real heartbreaker. But then why does my heart
feel safer with him than ever before? Maybe I’m making a huge mistake, thinking
I know the first thing about tangling with a man like Cash Hawthorne.

But it’s too late to turn back now.

We swing by my favorite vintage shop in Seattle just after
it opens, and I grab the first few articles of clothing I see. Can’t show up to
work wearing yesterday’s clothes with a sexy stud in tow, can I? I shed my
rain-washed clothes in the dressing room while the shopkeeper sees to me,
eyebrows raised at the motorcycle-straddling hunk waiting for me outside.

“There must be a pretty good story there,” the young woman
observes, ringing me up.

“You have no idea,” I mutter, smiling at Cash through the
shop window.

Thus attired to appear like I haven’t been fucking for the
past 24 hours, I set off toward ReImaged with Cash trailing behind. Carol and
Brian are going to be pretty pleased with this little surprise I’m bringing
them. Hell, I’m pleased too, knowing there’s a new place for Cash in my real
life…even if that place is “eye candy” for my latest marketing endeavor.

Hey, it’s better than nothing.

Cash and I stand side-by-side before the front doors of my
agency, pausing to compose ourselves as best we can. He shoots me a sidelong
glance, chuckling at how nervous I am.

“It’s not like you’re bringing me home to meet the parents,”
he points out, “That ship has already sailed, remember?”

“This is absolutely insane,” I breathe, smoothing down my
newly purchases yellow sundress. “Do you seriously think we can pull this stunt
off?”

“If anyone can, it’s us,” he remarks, “And it’s not like we
don’t have the motivation, right? The only question is, how am I going to keep
my hands off you long enough to get through this meeting…?”

“You’re terrible,” I laugh, stepping quickly away from him
as he reaches to give my ass a little squeeze.

“And
you’re
blushing,” he smiles, stepping up to the
doors, “Get it together, Porter. This is a place of business.”

In unison, we step through the front doors of ReImaged. At
half past ten, the place is already buzzing with activity. A dozen employees
mill about the open work space, collaborating and generating new ideas. Allie
is sitting at her desk across from mine, already hard at work. But as her eyes
flick up toward me and Cash, she goes absolutely still, openly gaping as we
make our way across the room.

“Allie, I’d like you to meet Cash Hawthorne,” I smile, more
than tickled at her utterly baffled expression.

“Hey there,” Cash says, extending his hand, “I hear we owe
you one, Allie.”

“Oh, it was…no trouble…” she says dreamily, shaking Cash’s
firm hand. Even with all her experience with men, Allie is still struck dumb by
the sight of Cash, here in the flesh. And honestly, who wouldn’t be?

“Why don’t I go wash the open road off my face before I meet
your bosses?” Cash suggests to me, looking around my office as if it were an
alien planet. Something tells me this is the first time Cash has set foot
anywhere that could be considered corporate.

“Bathroom’s just through there,” I tell him, pointing the
way.

He tucks his helmet under a sturdy arm, nods at Allie, and leaves
us alone at her desk. The second he’s out of earshot, my best friend springs up
out of her chair with an elated shriek and throws her arms around me.

“Who’s your best friend in the entire world?” she grins excitedly,
red curls quivering with vicarious excitement.

“You, and then some,” I grin back, “I can’t believe your
little scheme worked out, but I’ve got to say…You’re a genius.”

“So you guys worked everything out?” she presses, her green
eyes wide with glee.

“In a sense…” I tell her.

“What does that mean?” she asks, cocking her head.

“It means…Cash is going to take this job as a reason to be
in Seattle for a while,” I explain, “And we’ll see how it goes.”

“I’m sure that you’re more than enough reason for him to
come here,” Allie points out, “But the job is a nice cover for you two.”

“What do you mean, ‘cover’?” I ask her, trying and failing
to sound innocent.

“I mean, you two have a convenient excuse to do what you
desperately wanted in the first place and make a go at being together,” she
replies. “So. You’re welcome.”

“Allie, I…actually have no idea what I would do without
you,” I tell her, in awe of her insight, “Seriously.”

“You’d be having lackluster sex with Paul 2.0 and kicking
yourself for not living a little,” she shrugs, “No big mystery, Maddie.”

Cash reappears, freshened up and gorgeous as ever. It’s
mind-blowing, seeing him here in this familiar place. But it’s not jarring,
like I expected. If anything, his
being here
makes me feel even more at home. Allie’s right—it’s like we needed some kind of
permission to give into what we really wanted.

To her, it must seem incomprehensible that we’d need an
excuse, being grown adults and all. But if she knew the underlying
circumstances, I’m sure our hesitancy would make a lot more sense. To be
perfectly honest, I still have to actively force the family-oriented worries
from my mind. In the wake of my mom all but disbanding the Porter clan, I still
can’t shake the feeling that I’m betraying her somehow by sticking it out with
Cash. I just hope that being a “bad daughter” in her eyes will get easier with
practice. It’s not as though I’ve ever been able to change her mind.

“Well, well…” Carol’s husky voice rings out across the room.
“Who do we have here?”

Allie, Cash and I look around to see the two founders of
ReImaged heading our way. I smile gamely at Carol and Brian, playing it cool
though my heart is pounding like a sledgehammer against brick.

“Carol, Brian, this is Mr. Hawthorne,” I tell my bosses, “I
hope you don’t mind I invited him in this morning for a meeting. He was so
enthusiastic to jump on board this campaign that I figured, why wait?”

“No reason I can think of,” Carol goes on, her eyes glued to
Cash’s sculpted features. I’ve never seen anything ruffle my boss’s feathers,
but the very sight of my handsome new recruit has her gobsmacked. Even Brian,
the straightest white dude anyone’s ever met, stares at Cash with something
approaching reverence.

“He’s perfect,” Brian breathes.

“He’s ready to talk some terms, is what he is,” Cash grins
rakishly, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets.

“Of course, of course,” Brian sputters, sweeping his arm
toward the conference room. “Carol and I can walk you through the whole thing.
It is such a pleasure to have you working on this. I find your whole story
incredibly intriguing, I have to say…”

Cash cocks and eyebrow at me over his shoulder as Brian
leads him off to the conference room. Allie moves to follow them, freshly
printed contract in hand. Carol turns to me as they make their leave,
admiration and excitement shining in her eyes.

“Excellent work, Maddie,” she says, laying a hand on my
shoulder. “I can’t believe how quickly you were able to move on this.”

“Thanks Carol,” I smile, surprised by her praise. Approval
isn’t exactly something she regularly dispenses.

“He’s the ideal centerpiece for this campaign,” she goes on,
eyes glued to Cash’s retreating form. “Rugged, manly, no-nonsense…and sexy as
the day is long.”

“I’m inclined to agree with you,” I allow, watching my boss
straight-up ogle my lover’s sculpted ass.

“I wish I’d known
he’d
be working for us someday
before implementing that workplace sexual harassment policy,” she sighs
wistfully.

I fix my eyes on her, alarm bells clanging in my head. “What
policy is that?” I ask, trying to sound casual.

“Maddie,” she replies, crossing her arms, “This is a modern
workplace. Brian and I made sure to write protections for all our employees
into the company charter. Didn’t you read the fine print in your contract?”

“Oh. Right. Of course. The fine print…” I reply, my voice
strained. “But just to refresh my memory…?”

“We have a zero tolerance policy for office sexual
harassment,” Carol informs me, “And just to make sure there’s no chance of any confusion
cropping up, intra-office relationships are strictly forbidden. We’ve had to
let more than a couple people go over the years for trying to pair off on the
sly.”

“…You don’t say,” I reply, feeling the color drain out of my
face.

“Oh yeah,” she nods, “You’d be amazed what people think they
can get away with. But you know something, Maddie? The truth always comes out
in the end.
Always…
Anyway! We
’
ve got Cash
Hawthorne in the ReImaged web now. We should make sure there
’
s
no way for him to wiggle out, yes?”

I stare at her for a long moment, at a loss for words. But
as usual, Carol can’t spare a second to gage my reaction to her proclamation.
She claps her hands together and sets off for the conference room, leaving me
in the dust. I stand perfectly still as the chaotic office whirrs around me,
rooted to the spot as the weight of this latest revelation comes crashing down
on me. Just when Cash and I thought we were in the clear…

A surge of emotion rises inside of me, and I’m shocked to
find a burst of laughter escaping my lips. I clasp a hand over my mouth, trying
to contain a peal of giggles at the absurdity of this twist in events. Not a
week ago, a blow like this may have sent me reeling. But now, after everything
Cash and I have been through already, I can’t even work myself up to being
distressed. So we’re officially forbidden from being together not only by the
law, should our parents ever make their relationship binding, but also by our
shared placed of work. The move that was supposed to solve all our problems has
only doubled them. By rights, I should be freaking out.

But hey, what’s one more insurmountable obstacle when you’ve
got a man like Cash Hawthorne as a partner?

Pulling myself together, I square my shoulders and march off
toward the conference room. Cash and I may not be the most traditional couple,
or even an official couple at all, but lack of a title has no bearing on how
devoted we are to each other. I
’
m always up for a good
challenge, but I
’
ve never been as
committed
to seeing one through than I am right now. I have no idea what the future holds
for the two us, or even whether that future will encompass a week or a
lifetime. But I know that I’d risk everything to find out.

And if that isn
’
t an act of love, I don
’
t know what is.